New home sales drop in November

November a bad month for housing industry all around

New home sales for November took a nose-dive on Tuesday, following on the heels of Monday’s existing home sales plummet of 6.1%, making for a very un-Merry Christmas for housing on the eve of Christmas Eve.

The new home report from the U.S.Department of Housing & Urban Development printed with an annual sales rate of 438,000, versus expectations for 460,000, down 1.6% for the month.

“While new home sales still haven’t reached the levels we’d like, I wouldn’t put too much weight into last month’s slight drop,” said Quicken Loans Vice President Bill Banfield. “A healthy supply of new homes and a strengthening economy should give everyone a positive outlook going into 2015.”

Sponsor Content

Price data show weakness with the median price down 3.2% in the month to $280,000. The average sales price was $321,800.

Compared to November 2013, the median price is up only 1.4% and is largely in line with year-on-year sales, which are down 1.6%.

Inventory remained stable, with 213,000 new homes on the market versus 210,000 in October.

Supply relative to sales is up slightly, to 5.8 months from 5.7 and 5.5 months in the prior two months. Regional sales data show declines in three of four regions including the South, which is larger than all other regions combined in this report, and a gain in the West.